1. Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to non-platinum based electrode catalysts for fuel cells, methods of preparing the same, and fuel cells using the non-platinum based electrode catalysts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fuel cells can be classified into polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), and solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), according to the types of electrolyte and fuel used in the fuel cells.
In general, PEMFCs and DMFCs include a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) consisting of an anode, a cathode, and a polymer electrolyte interposed between the anode and the cathode. The anode includes a catalyst layer for catalyzing oxidation of a fuel. The cathode includes a catalyst layer for catalyzing reduction of an oxidant.
The catalyst layer of each of the anode and the cathode generally includes a catalyst that contains platinum (Pt) as an active component. However, since Pt is expensive, when fuel cells are produced in large quantities and thus a large amount of Pt is required, production costs are very high. Thus, production costs need to be reduced.
Thus, research into non-Pt based electrode catalysts and fuel cells including non-Pt based electrode catalysts and having high battery performance has been continuing.